5ème Arrondissement - Pantheon Property Insight

Pantheon, Paris

The 5ème arrondissement of Paris is situated on the left bank of the River Seine, and opposite to the 4th district. It shares borders with the 6th (west), 13th and 14th arrondissements (south). Although its official name is Pantheon, it is more often called the Latin Quarter. It houses the most prestigious public university of France, the Sorbonne. Due to its history, monuments and cultural institutions, this is one of the richest arrondissements of Paris, which is open to any artistic and educational sector.

Built by the Roman during the Antiquity, this is one of the most famous Parisian quarters in the world. The name of Quartier Latin originates in the Middle Ages. At this period, all the schools and universities gave lessons in Latin in this area. Stare at the Roman ruins and gorgeous religious edifices such as Saint Etienne du Mont and Saint Séverin churches.

A student area, the intellectual heart of Paris is famous for its chic boutiques and coffee who welcomed pillars of the French literature, Molière and Artaud. Strolling along the Quai de Montebello and Boulevard Saint Michel will let you discover second-hand booksellers. Nicknamed the Boul’Mich by the students, this is one of the main confrontation places of the famous May 68 French period. Numerous students, writers and journalists live in this district.

About 61,500 inhabitants live in the four administrative quarters of the 5th arrondissement:

• Quartier Saint Victor: Lutecia arenas, Jussieu campus, Maison de la Mutualité and Saint Nicolas-du-Chardonnet church are located in this quarter. The arènes are a Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. A student area, rental opportunities are numerous there. The Maison de la Mutualité building is part of the French historical monuments. It is the headquarter of the Parisian mutual insurance companies.
• Quartier du Jardin des Plantes: 19,000 inhabitants - the National Museum of Natural History houses the Jardin des Plantes de Paris, the main botanic garden of France. The campus of the university, it is stretched over 23.5ha. Almost a thousand plants grow in the garden. A rose garden, greenhouse, plain garden and menagerie are also to be seen. Saint-Médard church and Grande Mosquée de Paris are also to be found.
• Quartier du Val de Grâce: the 19th administrative quarter of Paris its name comes from the eponymous hospital it houses. This military French hospital, it is renowned for welcoming important people who need a medical help.
• Quartier de la Sorbonne: located close to the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Sorbonne university, it was built on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève. This quarter boasts Parisian elite schools and prestigious institutions located at the heart of the Latin quarter. Some places of interest: Pantheon, Sorbonne, Collège de France, library, the oldest tree of Paris.

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5ème Arrondissement - Pantheon Immobilier & Property Market Trends

The oldest arrondissement of Paris, property prices in the 5th district are quite high. Buying an apartment there should cost about €7,800 / sq m, which make it the 6th most expensive arrondissement of the French capital. As a result, apartments for rent are rare and so are flats for sale. All the more so as people living there do not want to leave the area. People who are looking for an apartment there thus do not hesitate to buy when a property is on offer, whatever the price is. The best may be to request the services of a real estate agency to get more opportunities. If your budget is high, you may prefer to invest in the Val de Grace quarter, close to the amazing Port Royal or near the underground station of Censier Daubenton.

Over the last two years, property prices however dropped in the arrondissement 5: by 4.9% in 2008 and by 8.1% in the first semester of 2009. The following table will help you know more about apartment prices in the four quarters:

To get updated info about the property prices in Paris, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

Characteristics of the 5ème Arrondissement - Panthéon

• Student area: the Sorbonne university, internationally renowned, made the name of this district. The 5th arrondissement is also home to many other schools such as the Ecole Polytechnique and Collège de France. Numerous specialized bookshops sell literature, science, history and philosophy books amongst others. The very historical and intellectual heart of Paris, it offers good rental opportunities.

• Pantheon: the New-classical building was constructed during the 18th century by Louis 15. Located on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève, it was built as a church in order to keep the reliquary of Sainte Genevieve. It houses French writers sepulchres like Rousseau, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Voltaire as well as Jean Moulin, a WWII resistance leader tortured to death by the Gestapo. Nowadays, the monument is used to honour important people and to recall France’s history major events.

• Roman ruins: the Arènes de Lutece and Thermes de Cluny are the only Gallo-Roman vestiges in Paris. The arenas, which could welcome 15,000 people, were built between the 1st century and the end of the 2nd century. The national museum will tell you the story of 15 centuries, from the Gallo-Roman Antiquity to the 15th century.